Most businesses, agencies, schools and other organizations employ dedicated communications systems that enable computers, servers, printers, facsimile machines, telephones, security cameras and the like to communicate with each other, through a private network, and with remote locations via a telecommunications service provider. Typically, network equipment (e.g., network switches, servers, memory storage devices, etc.) of the communications system will be located in a computer room of a building. Communications cables are routed through the walls and/or ceilings of the building. Typically, the communications cables are so-called “Ethernet” communications cables that contain eight (or more) insulated conductors such as copper wires that are arranged as four twisted pairs of conductors. Each twisted pair may be used to transmit a separate differential communications signal. A first end of each cable is connected to a respective connector port on the network equipment. Communications connectors such as RJ-45 style modular jacks (which are often referred to as “work area outlets”) are mounted in offices, conference rooms and other work areas throughout the building. The second end of each communications cable may connect to one of these communications connectors to provide communications paths from the work area outlets to the network equipment in the computer room. Communications cables from external telecommunication service providers may also terminate within the computer room.
A commercial data center is a facility that may be used to run the computer-based applications that handle the core electronic business and operational data of one or more organizations. The expansion of the Internet has also led to a growing need for a so-called “Internet data centers,” which are data centers that are used by online retailers, Internet portals, search engine companies and the like to provide large numbers of users simultaneous, secure, high-speed, fail-safe access to their web sites. Both types of data centers may host hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of servers, routers, memory storage systems and other associated equipment. In these data centers, fiber optic communications cables and/or Ethernet communications cables are typically used to provide a hard-wired communications system that interconnects the data center equipment.
In both office building and data center communications systems, the communications cables that are connected to end devices (e.g., network servers, memory storage devices, network switches, work area computers, printers, etc.) may terminate into one or more communications patching systems that may simplify later connectivity changes. Typically, a patching system includes one or more “patch panels” that are mounted on equipment rack(s) or in cabinet(s), and a plurality of “patch cords” that are used to make interconnections between different pieces of equipment. As is known to those of skill in the art, a “patch cord” refers to a communications cable (e.g., an Ethernet cable or a fiber optic cable) that has a connector such as, for example, an RJ-45 plug or a fiber optic connector, on at least one end thereof. A “patch panel” refers to an inter-connection device that includes a plurality (e.g., 24 or 48) of connector ports (herein the term “connector port” is used generically to refer to any type of communications connector that can receive a patch cord connector such as RJ-45 jacks, fiber optic adapters, fiber optic connectors, RJ-11 jacks, etc.). Each connector port on a patch panel may have a plug aperture on a front side thereof that is configured to receive the connector of a patch cord (e.g., an RJ-45 plug), and the back end of each connector port is typically configured to receive a communications cable or another patch cord.
In a typical office network, “horizontal” cables are used to connect each work area outlet (which typically are RJ-45 jacks) to the back end wire connection terminals of a respective connector port (which also typically are RJ-45 jacks) on a first set of patch panels. In an “inter-connect” patching system, a single set of patch cords is used to directly connect the connector ports on the first set of patch panels to respective connector ports on network switches. In a “cross-connect” patching system, a second set of patch panels is provided, and the first set of patch cords is used to connect the connector ports on the first set of patch panels to respective connector ports on the second set of patch panels, and a second set of typically single-ended patch cords is used to connect the connector ports on the second set of patch panels to respective connector ports on the network switches.
The connections between the work area end devices and the network switches may need to be changed for a variety of reasons, including equipment changes, adding or deleting users, office moves, etc. In an inter-connect patching system, these connections are typically changed by rearranging the patch cords that run between the first set of patch panels and the network switches. In a cross-connect patching system, the connections between the work area end devices and the network switches are typically changed by rearranging the patch cords that run between the first set of patch panels and the second set of patch panels. Both types of patching systems allow a technician to easily implement connectivity changes by, for example, simply unplugging one end of a patch cord from a first connector port on one of the patch panels in the first set of patch panels and then plugging that end of the patch cord into a second connector port on one of the patch panels in the first set of patch panels. Similar patching systems are used in data centers.
The connectivity between the connector ports on the network switches and work area outlets or data center equipment is typically recorded in a computer-based log. Each time patching changes are made (i.e., patch cords are rearranged), this computer-based log is updated to reflect the new patching connections. Unfortunately, in practice technicians may neglect to update the log each and every time a change is made, and/or may make errors in logging changes. As such, the logs may not be complete and/or accurate.
In order to reduce or eliminate such logging errors, a variety of so-called “intelligent” patching systems have been proposed that automatically log the patch cord connections in a communications patching system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,222,908 (“the '908 patent”) describes a communications patching system in which each patch cord connector (e.g., plug) includes a unique identifier, and each connector port on the patch panels includes a sensor that reads the unique identifier on any patch cord connector inserted therein. In the system of the '908 patent, the intelligent patch panel transmits the unique identifier for a patch cord that is plugged into or removed from a connector port along with identification of the connector port at which the patching change was made to a system administration computer that logs each change to the patch cord connections in a connectivity database. Other intelligent patching systems employ sensors, radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tags, serial ID chips, common mode communications channels and the like to detect patch cord insertions and removals and/or to automatically track patching connections. Typically, these systems require that all of the patch panels in the patching system have these automatic tracking capabilities and, in inter-connect systems, may also require that the network switches include automatic tracking capabilities as well.